Vehicle Floor Tray

ABSTRACT

A vehicle floor tray has a base, upstanding side walls, a forward panel, and an aft wall that define a basin. An array of spaced apart treads project upwardly from the base. The treads are arranged in adjacent rows and the treads in each row are oriented in a direction opposite from the direction of orientation of the treads in adjacent rows. Some rows may be shifted or staggered with respect to adjacent rows. This forms a convolutely shaped network of channels within which liquid may collect. The shape of the channel inhibits the mass flow of liquid to the front, back, or sides of the floor tray during acceleration, deceleration, and up or down hill traverses. This inhibits puddling of liquid during off-road operation of a vehicle.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of and claims priority to co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/202,497 filed on 2 Sep. 2008, the contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to floor trays for vehicles and morespecifically to floor trays having raised treads that define a networkof liquid confining channels.

BACKGROUND

Off-road and general purpose vehicles such as, for instance, pickuptrucks, Jeeps®, and SUV's, oftentimes are operated in off-road locationsin addition to being driven on paved roads and highways. During off-roadactivity, it is common for the interior of such a vehicle to become wet,muddy, or soiled as a result of off-road conditions. In particular, thefloorboards or floor wells commonly become soiled by occupants placingwet and muddy shoes in the floor wells as a consequence, for example, ofhaving walked across wet, snowy, or muddy ground prior to entering thevehicle. This often results in liquid such as water, mud, and/or slushaccumulating on the floor mats and floor trays that commonly arepositioned in the floor wells to protect underlying carpet and othersurfaces. As the vehicle rapidly accelerates and decelerates, or isdriven up or down hills, or is severely jostled during normal andoff-road use, the accumulated liquid has a tendency to slosh aroundwithin the floor trays in which it has collected, which can causeirritating problems. For instance, when the liquid sloshes to theforward end of a driver's or passenger's floor tray during a stop or adown hill traverse, it can form a relatively deep puddle, which canre-soil shoes, create slippery conditions, or even overflow the edges ofthe floor tray to soil the protected surface beneath.

One attempt to address the above and other problems has been theso-called deep tread or deep rib floor tray. Deep rib floor traysgenerally are molded with raised treads on their upper surface that aresubstantially taller than the treads of traditional floor mats. Thesetreads, then, form between them a series of channels that also aresubstantially deeper than channels of traditional floor mats. The ideais that water, mud, and slush that might accumulate on the floor traywill collect in the deep channels and, even through it may slosh around,hopefully it will not form puddles deeper than the channels themselvesand therefore will not re-soil shoes or overflow the tray. Whileprevious deep rib floor mats have been somewhat successful, water, mud,and slush nevertheless still can overflow the channels as it sloshes toone side of the tray or another to soil shoes and, indeed, can evenoverflow the trays themselves. In fact, some prior art floor trays havetreads that define channels all extending primarily in a singledirection, which actually can promote flow and sloshing of liquid inthat direction. A need exists for a floor tray that successfullycontains and controls the movement of water, mud, and slush that maycollect in the floor tray.

It also is common, particularly in modern vehicles, that floor trays andfloor mats are held in place in the floor well by one or more anchorhooks that project upwardly from the floor well to extend throughcorresponding eyelets or other openings formed in the floor mats. Whilethis can be successful at securing the floor mats in place, it obviouslyalso creates an opening in the floor mat. For vehicles, such asautomobiles, that are not used in off-road conditions, this opening doesnot generally present a problem because the floor mats of such vehiclesgenerally are not subjected to collected water, mud, and slush. However,for off-road vehicles such as Jeeps®, water, mud, and slush can leakthrough the eyelets or openings and onto the carpet or other protectedsurface beneath. Obviously, this severely compromises the very purposeof the floor tray to protect the often carpeted surface of the floorwell from being soiled or ruined. Eliminating the openings is notgenerally an option because the floor tray will then simply lie atop theupstanding anchor hooks forming a bump in the tray and, without thebenefit of the hooks, may not remain in place within the floor well. Aneed thus exists for a deep rib floor tray that accommodates and makesuse of anchor hooks without the risk of liquid leaking through to theprotected floor will below.

Prior deep rib floor mats also can exhibit a problem related to the factthat the channels between the upstanding ribs are in fact substantiallydeeper than normal. More specifically, some drivers have noted thatduring normal operation of the accelerator, brake, and clutch pedals,the heel of the shoe can become temporarily lodged within a channelbetween ribs. Not only can this be a nuisance, it also can represent asafety issue, particularly during off-road driving where rapid switchingbetween and manipulation of pedals is common. There also exists a need,therefore, for a deep rib floor tray that minimizes or eliminates thetendency for a driver's shoe to become lodged between the ribs of thetray.

SUMMARY

Briefly described, a deep rib type vehicle floor tray has an overallprofile that substantially conforms to the shape a foot well of thevehicle. The floor tray, which may be fabricated of molded rubberized orplastic material, is shaped to define a base and first and second sidewalls integral with the base and extending upwardly therefrom. A forwardpanel and an aft wall are integral with the base and also extendupwardly. For the driver and front passenger floor wells, the forwardpanel may be angled and sized to rest atop the angled forward wall ofthe floor well. This configuration forms a basin capable of containingwater, mud, and slush.

An array of relatively tall generally V-shaped treads, referred toherein as chevron-shaped treads, extend upwardly from the base of thefloor tray and form a network of relatively deep channels therebetween.The chevron-shaped treads are arranged in adjacent, spaced-apart rowswith the treads in each individual row being commonly oriented; i.e. theapexes of their chevron shapes all point generally in the samedirection. Further, the treads of each row are oriented oppositely fromthe treads of adjacent rows in that the apexes of the chevron-shapedtreads of one row point generally in the opposite direction as theapexes of the treads in adjacent rows. Also, each row of chevron-shapedtreads is shifted or staggered by a distance approximately equal to halfof a tread length plus has of the distance of treads in a row. Thisunique array of chevron-shaped treads defines between the treads anetwork of relatively deep channels for the collection and confinementof water, mud, and slush.

Because of the shape, orientation, and/or the staggered configuration ofthe chevron-shaped treads, the network of channels, although contiguousto allow liquid to spread evenly throughout the network, is made up of alarge number of relatively small, somewhat discrete, and generallydiscontinuous sections. As a result, the free flow of liquid from oneend of the channel network to the other is severely inhibited with thedesirable consequence that water, mud, and slush does not tend to sloshreadily to the front, back, and sides of the tray during acceleration,deceleration, up and down hill traverses, and the starts and stopscommonly encountered in off-road driving. It also has been discoveredthat the unique configuration of treads and channels on the base of thefloor tray greatly reduces any tendency for a driver's heels to lodge orget stuck in a channel while operating the pedals of the vehicle.

One or more retention openings are formed in the base of the floor trayfor receiving the upstanding anchor hooks found in the floor wells ofmodern vehicles. To prevent leakage at the locations of these eyes, eachopening is formed with an upstanding dam that surrounds and interiorland, which may be sunken or recessed, through which the anchor hookextends. The land is formed with a slit pattern configured to deform toallow the head of the anchor hook to move through the slit and,subsequently, to return toward its originally shape to form a seal or atleast a partial seal around the shaft of the anchor hook. As a result ofthe surrounding dam and of the self-sealing feature of the eye, leakagein the vicinity of the opening is significantly reduced or virtuallyeliminated allowing the floor tray to be secured with anchor hookswithout consequent leakage.

The forgoing and other features and advantages will be better understoodand appreciated upon review of the detailed description set forth belowtaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, which arebriefly described as follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

According to common practice, the various features of the drawingsdiscussed below are not necessarily drawn to scale. Dimensions ofvarious features and elements in the drawings may be expanded or reducedto illustrate more clearly the embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a deep rib floor tray for afront compartment, driver's side foot well that embodies principals ofthe invention in one preferred embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a deep rib floor tray for arear compartment foot well that embodies principles of the invention inone preferred form.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of one embodiment of a leak resistantretention opening according to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of a leakresistant retention opening according to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 3C is a perspective view of another alternate embodiment of a leakresistant retention opening according to aspects of the invention.

FIG. 3D is a cross-sectional view of the retention opening of FIG. 3Cshowing an anchor hook extending through the eye.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now in more detail to the drawings, wherein like referencenumerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1illustrates a floor tray that embodies principles of the invention in apreferred form. The floor tray 11 depicted in FIG. 1 is configured toconform to and rest in the front or forward compartment driver sidefloor well of a Jeep® brand vehicle. It will be understood, however,that the illustrated configuration for this particular type of vehicleis not limiting and that the principles of the invention may be appliedto floor trays for any type of vehicle. Further, the floor tray 11 ofthe preferred embodiment is made of injection molded rubber, rubberizedplastic, or polymeric material such as, for example, thermoplasticelastomer (TPE). However, the tray 11 may be formed of any appropriatematerial useful for the purposes of the invention and may be formed byprocesses other than injection molding such as, for example, vacuumforming, compression molding, cast liquid molding, or any otherappropriate process.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the floor tray 11 comprises a base12 size to rest on the floor of the vehicle floor well. A first sidewall 13 is integral with the base and extends upwardly therefrom alongone side and a second side wall 14 is integral with the base and extendsupwardly from the opposite side of the base. A forward panel 16 isintegral with the base and side walls and slopes gently upwardlytherefrom at the forward edge of the tray 11. The size and angle of theforward panel 16 is predetermined to follow the contour of the forwardend portion of the floor well that resides beneath the accelerator,break, and clutch pedals of the vehicle. In this regard, a cutoutfeature 24 is formed on the right side of the forward panel 16. Thiscutout feature is shaped to ensure that when the mats are installed inthe vehicle, the installation does not interfere with the acceleratorpanel or get inadvertently positioned over the pedal. Finally, an aftwall 17 is integral with the base 12 and the side walls and extendsupwardly therefrom along the rear edge of the floor tray 11. It will beseen that with the described configuration, the floor tray 11 generallyforms a basin that both conforms to the shape of the floor well of thevehicle for which it is designed and that is capable of containingliquid such as water, mud or slush to prevent the liquid from soilingthe underlying floor well material, which may be carpet.

An array of treads 19 are formed on and project upwardly from the base12 of the floor tray 11 and, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, extendupwardly onto the forward panel 16 of the tray. Each of the treads 19preferably is configured in the shape of a chevron, but may beconfigured in other shapes that achieve the same performancecharacteristics. That is, each tread 19 is configured with a first leg21 and a second leg 22 that meet at a predetermined angle and that forman apex 23 of the tread. While the chevron-shaped treads 19 may beformed with a wide variety of sizes, angles, and shapes, it has beenfound that, for the preferred embodiment, each tread is approximately1.5 inches from side to side and the angle at which the legs of thechevron meet is approximately 120 degrees. Further, the width of thechevron-shaped treads; that is, the width of each of its legs in thepreferred embodiment is approximately 0.5 inches. Finally, on the base12 of the tray 11, the chevron-shaped treads of the preferred embodimentproject upwardly from the floor of the base a distance of approximately0.3 inches. All of these dimensions may be varied by as much as 100percent or more within the scope of the invention.

The chevron-shaped treads 19 are arranged in spaced apart rows, two ofwhich are indicated by dashed lines 26 and 27 in FIG. 1. As can be seenin FIG. 1, the chevron-shaped treads 19 in each row (for example Row 26)are oriented in the same direction. That is, the apex of eachchevron-shaped tread in a row points in the same direction such as, inthe case of Row 26, toward the forward end of the floor tray 11.Further, each tread in a row is spaced from adjacent treads in the row.In the preferred embodiment, the spacings between treads in a row isapproximately 0.4 inches; however, a wide variety of larger or smallerspacings may be selected to satisfy application specific performancecharacteristics. Further, the rows may contain partial treads,particularly on the ends of each row and around the perimeter of thebase as seen in FIG. 1.

The chevron-shaped treads in row 27, which is adjacent to row 26, areoriented in a direction opposite to the direction in which thechevron-shaped treads are oriented in row 26. That is, in row 27, theapexes of the treads point in the opposite direction as the apexes ofthe treads in row 26. In the illustrated embodiment, the apexes of thetreads in row 27 are oriented toward the rear or aft end of the floortray 11. Finally, the chevron-shaped treads in row 27 are shifted oroffset along the row by a distance approximately equal to one-half of atread length plus one half of the spacing between treads of a row sothat the apexes of the treads in row 27 are aligned with the spacesbetween the chevron-shaped treads of row 26. More generally speaking,each row of treads is shifted or offset with respect to the treads inadjacent rows.

The just described configuration of the array of chevron-shaped treadsdefines between the plurality of treads a convolutedly shaped network ofchannels 20. The channels of the network are all contiguous in that eachchannel is communication with each other channel along one or moreconvolutedly shaped paths. Accordingly, liquid such as water, mud, orslush may collect within the channel network, where it spreads outevenly throughout the extent of the network. The height of thechevron-shaped treads is selected so that, under normal off-roadconditions, the depth of the liquid in the channel network is less thanthe height of the chevron-shaped treads. Thus, the upper surfaces of thetreads present a surface on which a driver's or passenger's shoes canrest and the surface is raised above the liquid collected within thetray. In this way, the liquid, which generally is muddy or slushy, doesnot re-soil the shoes. Furthermore, the upper surfaces of thechevron-shaped treads provide a dry slip resistant surface for theshoes, which is important particularly when engaging in off-road drivingactivities.

The array of treads and the channel network of the present invention areparticularly useful to prevent liquid collected and contained within thetray from sloshing in one direction or the other and thereby formingpools that can overflow the treads of the tray or the tray itself and/orsoil the shoes and/or result in a slippery surface that can betroublesome and even dangerous. For example, consider the scenariowherein a shallow pool of liquid such as water or slush is containedwithin the channel network and the driver suddenly applies the breaks ofthe vehicle or begins a steep downhill traverse. The momentum of thevehicle, or gravity, will cause the pool of liquid to begin to moveforward within the floor tray 11. As the forward movement of the liquidbegins, small regions of the forward moving liquid pool behind each ofthe many forward facing chevron-shaped treads and thus becomes trappedor dammed behind these treads. Furthermore, small regions of liquidbehind each of the rear facing treads is directed by the angle sides ofthe treads to the next adjacent row of treads. Each of these smallregions of liquids thus also encounter and are trapped behind the nextadjacent forward facing row of treads. As a result, a large number ofsmall liquid pools form behind the forward facing treads where eachsmall pool is prevented from moving further forward on the base of thefloor tray 11. As a consequence, the sudden stop of the vehicle does notcause liquid collected within the tray to flow forward to the front endof the floor tray and collect in a pool where it can overflow the tray,overflow the treads, and generally cause an undesirable and perhapsunsafe mess at the forward end of the tray.

A similar phenomenon occurs when for example, the vehicle is rapidlyaccelerated or travels up hill. In this scenario, the liquid collectedwithin the channel network 20 tends to flow rearwardly toward the aftend of the floor tray 11. However, just as with the previously describedscenario, a large number of small pools of liquid are intercepted anddammed behind the rear facing chevron-shaped treads as opposed to alarge volume of liquid flowing to the rear or aft end of the floor tray11. Liquid thus does not pool at the rear end of the floor tray as canbe the case with prior art trays.

Side-to-side sloshing of liquid within the channel network 20 also isinhibited by the convolutely shaped paths that the liquid must travel totraverse the mat from one side to the other. It will be understood,however, that front to back and back to front sloshing of liquid withinthe channel network is a much more common problem than side-to-sidesloshing and the configuration of the tread array in FIG. 1 may be moreefficient at preventing front to back and back to back sloshing thanside-to-side sloshing.

In addition to the array of chevron-shaped treads just described, thefloor tray 11 also preferably is provided with a retention opening 29for receiving an anchor hook that extends or projects upwardly from thefloor well of a vehicle. As previously mentioned, such anchor hooks arecommon in modern vehicles and their purpose is to help hold floor matsand floor trays in place and prevent them from slipping or creeping outof position in the floor well. As described in more detail below, theretention opening 29 of the present invention is designed to preventliquid collected within the floor tray 11 from seeping or leakingthrough the retention opening to soil the surface of the floor wellbeneath. Finally, the floor tray 11 also preferably is formed with asnap-in logo feature 28 sized to receive the logo of a distributor,private label customer, or manufacturer of the floor tray.

It can be seen in FIG. 1 that the height of the chevron-shaped treadsbecomes gradually less as the treads move up the angled forward panel 16of the tray. This is because the forward panel 16 is above the level ofany liquid that is likely to collect in the bottom of the tray so thatsloshing does not become a problem in this region. Furthermore, to theextent that slush or other liquid may drip from a driver's shoes as heoperates the pedals of the vehicle, the short height of the treads inthe region of the forward panel 16 allows the water to drain more freelydownwardly into the region of the base of the tray.

FIG. 2 illustrates the present invention applied to a dual floor tray,which typically may be used in the rear compartment of a vehicle such asa Jeep® brand off-road vehicle. The configurations and principles of thefloor tray of FIG. 2 are the same as for FIG. 1 and thus will not bedescribed in great detail here. Generally speaking, however, the rearfloor tray 31 is a single piece injection or otherwise molded rubberizedplastic unit that incorporates both driver and passenger side trays. Aswith the forward compartment floor tray of FIG. 1, each of the trays inFIG. 2 has a base 32, a first side wall 33 integral with and projectingupwardly from the base, a second side wall 34 integral with andprojecting upwardly from the base opposite side 33, an upwardly angledforward panel 36, and an aft wall 37. The walls, panel, and base form abasin for containing liquid such as water, mud, and slush. Further, therear floor tray 31 is configured overall to conform and fit snugglywithin the floor well of a particular vehicle such as, in the case ofFIG. 2, a Jeep® brand off-road vehicle.

Similar to the tray 11 of FIG. 1, the base 32 of each tray in FIG. 2 isprovided with any array of chevron-shaped treads that project upwardlyfrom the base and extend at least partially up the forward panel 36. Thechevron-shaped treads 39 preferably are configured and arranged the sameas the treads in FIG. 1. More particularly, each tread 39 comprises afirst leg 41 and a second leg 42 that meet at an angle to define an apex43. The chevron-shaped treads, as in FIG. 1, are arranged in rows withthe treads in each row facing in a direction opposite to the treads inadjacent rows. Adjacent rows also are shifted or offset with respect toeach other by a distance approximately equal to half the width of achevron-shaped tread plus half the distance of the space between treadsin a row. The height of the treads above the base 32 can vary, butgenerally are the same as for the forward compartment tray 11 of FIG. 1.

As in FIG. 1, the array of treads in FIG. 2, as in FIG. 1, form acontiguous but convolutedly shaped channel network 40 within whichcollected liquid such as water, mud, and slush can collect and spreadout. However, rapid acceleration or deceleration or merely travelingdown hill or up hill will not result in puddling at the front or rearend of the floor tray because of the configuration and placement of thechevron-shaped treads, as detailed above with respect to FIG. 1. Thus,the same advantages are achieved for the rear compartment of the vehicleas are achieved for the forward compartment.

FIGS. 3A through 3D detail alternate configurations for the retentionopening 29 (FIG. 1). As mentioned above, the retention opening isconfigured to receive the anchor hook that projects upwardly from thefloor well of the vehicle to hold the floor tray 11 in place and preventit from slipping around. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3A, theretention opening 29 comprises upstanding tapered outer walls 51 thatextend upwardly from the base 50 of a floor tray. A land 52 spans thetop of the upstanding side walls 51. An opening 53 is formed in the landto accommodate an anchor hook. More specifically, the opening 53 in thisembodiment comprises an elongated slit 54 that is interrupted at itsmiddle portion by a circular central aperture 56. The slit 54essentially subdivides the land 52 into a pair of flaps that can bendupwardly and deform to allow the head of an anchor hook to be pressedthrough the retention opening 29. When the head of the anchor popsthrough the opening 53, the flaps spring back down until the circularopening 56 encircles and substantially seals around the shaft of theanchor hook. In use, the raised side wall 51 of the retention openingforms a dam that prevents liquid collected on the base of the floor trayfrom flowing beneath the tray through the retention opening. Further,the configuration of the opening 53 forms a relatively watertight sealthat inhibits leakage of liquid trough the retention opening 29 wherethe anchor hook extends through the eye.

FIG. 3B illustrates an alternate embodiment of an retention opening. Inthis embodiment, a side wall 58 projects upwardly from the base 50 of afloor tray and is capped by a land 59. The opening 61 is this embodimentis formed by a series crisscrossed slits 62 that define pie-shaped flapsin the land 29. The head of an anchor hook can be pressed through theland 29, whereupon the pie-shaped flaps bend upwardly to accommodatepassage of the head. When the head moves beyond the opening 61, theflaps spring back down to form a reasonably good watertight seal aroundthe shaft of the anchor hook.

FIG. 3C illustrates yet another embodiment a retention opening thatembodies principles of this invention. In this embodiment, an outer wall66 projects upwardly from the base 50 of a floor tray to an annular rim67. In this embodiment, the land 68 is recessed into the retentionopening, forming inner walls 70 of the eye. The land 68 is provided withan opening 69 configured to accommodate passage of the head of an anchorhook as described above. The opening 69 may take on any of a number ofconfigurations that accommodate such passage, including thecriss-crossed configuration shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C.

FIG. 3D is a cross-sectional view of the retention opening of FIG. 3Cshowing how the retention opening cooperates with an anchor hook 71 tohelp hold the floor tray in place. The anchor hook 71 is seen to have ashaft 73 and a head 74 and is secured to the floor well and projectsupwardly therefrom. When the floor tray is properly positioned withinthe floor well, the retention opening 29 aligns with the anchor hook.The retention opening can then be pressed downwardly, whereupon the head74 of the anchor hook passes through the opening within the land 68 ofthe retention opening. When the head 74 clears the opening, the land 68springs back to embrace the shaft 73 of the anchor hook to form arelatively good seal around the shaft. Thus, even if water shouldcollect within the recess of the retention opening 29, it is inhibitedfrom leaking through to the underlying floor well by the seal createdaround the shaft of the anchor hook. Further, liquid 77 that mayaccumulate on the base 50 of the floor tray is dammed by the upstandingwall 66 of the retention opening and thus prevented from leaking beneaththe floor tray.

It will thus be seen that the unique retention opening of the presentinvention permits full beneficial use of anchor hooks in modern vehicleswhile simultaneously preventing unwanted leakage of liquid through theretention openings at the location of the anchor hooks.

In addition to the forgoing advantages, it has been discovered that thefloor tray of this invention provides a variety of additional advantagesover prior art trays. For example, the upper surfaces of thechevron-shaped treads have been found to provide a superior slipresistant surface for the shoes of drivers and passengers. Further,because, it is believed, of the convoluted shape of the channel networkdefined by the treads of this invention, the tendency of a driver's heelto become lodged or struck in the channels, which can be encounteredwith prior art deep rib floor mats, is significantly reduced oreliminated. Also, the alignment configuration of the rows facilitateseasy cleaning with, for example, a pressure washer wand. Specifically, asoiled floor tray can be hung sideways and sprayed off with a pressurewasher wand, whereupon the water flows between the rows of treads todrain readily from the tray facilitating efficient drying. Finally, theconfiguration of the slits in the lands of the retention openings formsa substantial seal around an anchor hook as described. Theseconfigurations also substantially close when no anchor hook is presentto form a substantial seal when used with vehicles that do not haveanchor hooks. Leakage at the locations of the retention openings is thusinhibited whether or not an anchor hook is present.

The invention has been described herein in terms of preferredembodiments and methodologies considered by the inventor who representthe best mode of carrying out the invention. It will be understood bythose skilled in the art, however, that the various additions,deletions, and modifications may well be made to the illustratedembodiments within the scope of the invention. For example, while theindividual treads in the preferred embodiment are chevron-shaped, theyalso may take on other shapes, such as small curved or circularsegments, that trap sloshing liquid in a similar manner. In addition,while the treads have been shown facing forward and aft in the preferredembodiments, they may face in different directions such as, for example,side-to-side, corner-to-corner, or otherwise. In addition, sections oftreads facing in different directions on the same mat may be employed toinhibit sloshing of water equally in all directions. The floor tray ofthe present invention may be formed with any configuration sized andshaped to fit virtually any vehicle. A wide variety of materials may beused to fabricate the floor tray including any appropriate type ofpolymer, rubberized plastic, rubber or otherwise. These and othermodifications may be made to the embodiments illustrated above withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theclaims.

1.-27. (canceled)
 28. A vehicle floor tray comprising: a base; upturnedperipheral panels surrounding the base, the base and upturned peripheralpanels forming a basin; a plurality of upstanding spaced apartnon-linear treads on the base within the basin; the treads being arrayedin rows with the treads of at least one row being oriented oppositelyfrom treads of an adjacent row; each tread having a plurality of sidesextending upwardly from the base; at least some of the sides of eachtread being substantially parallel to a corresponding side of anadjacent one of the treads; the sides of the treads forming non-linearchannels that resist the free flow of liquid across the base.
 29. Avehicle floor tray as claimed in claim 28 wherein at least some of thetreads comprise an arcuate side.
 30. A vehicle floor tray as claimed inclaim 28 and further comprising a logo feature projecting upwardly fromthe base.
 31. A vehicle floor tray as claimed in claim 30 wherein thelogo feature is located among the plurality of upstanding treads.
 32. Avehicle floor tray as claimed in claim 30 wherein the logo feature issubstantially oval in shape.
 33. A vehicle floor tray as claimed inclaim 30 wherein the logo feature has a curved side extending upwardlyfrom the base.
 34. A vehicle floor tray as claimed in claim 33 whereinthe logo feature is located among the plurality of upstanding treads, atleast some of the upstanding treads adjacent the logo feature having acurved side.
 35. A vehicle floor tray as claimed in claim 34 wherein thecurved sides of the upstanding treads adjacent the logo feature arespaced from and substantially follow the curve of the curved side of thelogo feature.
 36. A vehicle floor tray as claimed in claim 30 whereinthe logo feature comprises sides that extend upwardly from the base andthat define a substantially oval shape, and a recessed floor bounded bythe upstanding sides, the recessed floor for receiving a logo.
 37. Avehicle floor tray as claimed in claim 28 further comprising a retentionfeature on the base positioned to receive an anchor hook when the floortray is disposed in a floor well of a vehicle, the retention featurecomprising an outer wall that extends upwardly from the base to anannular rim, a recessed land inside the annular rim, and an opening inthe recessed land for receiving the anchor hook.
 38. A vehicle floortray as claimed in claim 37 wherein the outer wall of the retentionfeature is substantially circular in shape.
 39. A vehicle floor tray asclaimed in claim 37 wherein the retention feature is located among theupstanding treads and wherein the outer wall of the retention feature iscurved, at least some of the upstanding treads adjacent the retentionfeature having a curved side facing the retention feature thatsubstantially follows the curve of the outer wall of the retentionfeature.
 40. A vehicle floor tray as claimed in claim 39 wherein theouter wall of the retention feature is substantially circular.
 41. Afloor tray shaped to fit within the floor well of a vehicle, the floortray comprising: a base; upturned panels surrounding the base, the baseand upturned panels forming a basin; an array of upstanding spaced apartnon-linear treads on the base within the basin; the treads of the arraybeing arranged in lines with the treads of at least one line of treadsbeing rotationally oriented differently from treads of an adjacent lineof treads; each tread having a plurality of sides extending upwardlyfrom the base; at least some of the sides of each tread beingsubstantially parallel to a corresponding side of an adjacent one of thetreads; the treads forming between them a network of convolutedly shapedchannels that impedes the free flow of liquid across the base.
 42. Afloor tray as claimed in claim 41 further comprising a logo featureextending upwardly from the base amid the treads, the logo featurecomprising a curved outer wall and a recessed central portion configuredto receive a logo, at least some of the treads adjacent the logo featurehaving a curved side facing the logo feature.
 43. A floor tray asclaimed in claim 42 wherein the outer wall of the logo feature issubstantially oval in shape and the curved sides of the adjacent treadsare spaced from and generally follow the oval shape of the outer wall ofthe logo feature.
 44. A floor tray as claimed in claim 41 furthercomprising a retention feature on the base for receiving an anchor hookwhen the floor tray is disposed in a floor well of a vehicle, theretention feature comprising an outer wall that projects upwardly fromthe base to an annular rim, a recessed land surrounded by the outerwall, and an opening in the recessed land for receiving an anchor hook.45. A floor tray as claimed in claim 44 wherein the retention feature islocated amidst and spaced from the upstanding treads, and wherein theouter wall of the retention feature is curved, at least some of theupstanding treads adjacent the retention feature having a curved sidefacing the retention feature that substantially follows the curve of theouter wall of the retention feature.
 46. A floor tray as claimed inclaim 45 wherein the outer wall of the retention feature issubstantially circular in shape.